the merry kettle - and the rest

This restaurant started off as a WW1 army hut and, when the house was built in 1928, became The Merry Kettle Tea Garden. It has had a mixed history since then. In the 1970s it was a very good restaurant owned by John Kent and was known as Kent's Restaurant. When he sold the business in the 1980s, it became the Mimosa - specialising in fish dishes - then Mo's, and then a succession of Indian restaurants: Bollywood Nights, the Café Royal, the Bengal Brasseries and, most recently, Aniseed.

Merry Kettle: The new owner of the Merry Kettle commissioned this photograph from local photographer Marjorie Baker in 1936 - presumably after refurbishment. The photo may have been used for advertising purposes as the surroundings have been whited out.